BP Tries to Shift Blame to Transocean

Source: Wall Street Journal

HOUSTON—BP PLC has stepped up efforts to shift the blame for the giant oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico onto rig owner Transocean Ltd., as the relationship between these longtime business partners continued to sour.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, two BP executives who declined to be publicly identified claimed that Transocean's own documents specify that its workers aboard the Deepwater Horizon rig were in charge of operations and monitoring the oil well. The rig caught fire and sank last month, killing 11 people and unleashing one of the worst oil spills in U.S. history.

A spokesman for Transocean responded: "As the operator of the well, BP has repeatedly acknowledged—under oath and in advertisements—that it is assuming full responsibility for this matter."

Since a May 11 congressional hearing, BP and Transocean have traded accusations about who was responsible for the April 20 explosion and oil spill. At stake: possibly billions of dollars in liability and cleanup costs.


Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704852004575258371387135554.html?mod=WSJ_hps_MIDDLEThirdNews

will have time to point fingers and place blame.

You're welcome to sue Transocean for what you owe the government, of course.


rocktivity

that tells you all you need to know.

...it's another Big Business circular firing squad...

I just hope that we are able to recoup the losses, all of the expenses, and a good, healthy penalty to help in the recovery of fragile ecosystems from BP, Transocean, Halliburton, and everyone else involved in this fiasco.

Work now, BP - worry about how much you'll have to actually pay later, after the threat has been abated.

In the pipe and BP overruled them. This was the most serious mistake of all and it belongs directly in the lap of BP. I believe BP was also responsible for the BOP that was defective. This was the second most serious error. Need I go further?

the BP company man signing off on it. Nothing. That's how the industry works. If BP tries this in court, they will lose. If they are falling back on this defense, it means they have nothing else.